PHOTO | ASHLEY MAHONEY

“Excelsior” stands at Five Points Plaza in west Charlotte.

Art tells the story of Historic West End at Five Points Plaza.

“Excelsior” stands at Five Points Plaza, where Beatties Ford Road, Fifth Street, West Trade Street, State Street and Rozzelles Ferry Road intersect. The public artwork pays homage to the historic Excelsior Club on Beatties Ford Road, a hub for Black social and political life in Charlotte for over 75 years.

Arts & Science Council oversaw the project, as it manages public arts programs funding for the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Charlotte’s Public Art Ordinance allocates 1% of total construction budgets for eligible capital projects for such work.

“The city in particular said they wanted this piece to be tall, they wanted it to be iconic, they wanted it to be something that definitely grabbed your eye when you came to Five Points Plaza,” artist J. Stacy Utley said.

Utley was the artist selected for the project, with assistance from Edwin Harris, co-founder and design principal of Durham-based architecture firm Evoke. Both were mentored by architect Phil Freelon, who designed the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“[Freelon] was a mentor to both Edwin and I,” Utley said. “What an honor to be working on Five Points with Edwin and his team. It’s been like a full circle moment.”

Historic West End transition
Utley said it was important to recognize the transition Historic West End is undergoing.

“For anybody who lives in Charlotte, you know what Historic West End means to the city of Charlotte,” Utley said.

The city of Charlotte included the Beatties Ford Road corridor as one of six areas in its Corridors of Opportunity program, a $24.5 million initiative launched last September. Among the projects slated for the corridor is the Five Points Public Plaza, where the artwork sits and includes a water feature and amphitheater. It is also adjacent to the Gold Line streetcar, which extends public transportation options in the neighborhood. While these elements bring optimism about economic opportunity, they also signal concerns low-income residents will be pushed out due to gentrification. Utley wanted to ensure the artwork acknowledges the community as it is now, not what it may become.   

“When we were awarded the project, one of the things that we really wanted to do was to make sure that we did a piece that was respectful to the community and also told the story that has a narrative of the community, especially the history of the community so that whether you've been there for either four months or 40 years this  piece resonates with you,” Utley said. “We firmly believe that when it comes to public art, it belongs to the public and the public has to be involved in some level of input for the project. True, you can't always make someone happy, but I think people always want to be heard.”

Creating a quilt
They held community engagement sessions to gather input from neighborhood residents, which led to the vision for two pieces within the larger scope of the project. The two pieces within “Excelsior” are “Ever Upward” and “Even Higher,” the Latin definitions of excelsior. The artwork pulls off the imagery of a quilt, weaving different pieces of history together.

“If you look at how West Trade Street turns into Beatties Ford Road, there are so many different communities that are attached to that thoroughfare,” Utley said. “It is almost like a thread that ties in the different patches of a quilt together. Each one of those patches has a story.”

“Ever Upwards” consists of folded laser-cut metal panels found at points on West Trade Street on the southwest side of I-77. The four 7-foot abstract forms represent four elements: “The walk Upward” Dorothy Counts took integrating public schools in Charlotte, “The Charge Upward” taken by every student passing through the arch of Johnson C. Smith University and “the road upward” leading from Trade Street in Uptown to JCSU’s Biddle Hall and the “the prayers upward” as the area changes.

“Even Higher” consists of three metal panels, showing images of the Excelsior Club, Biddle Hall and Counts. The panels range from 18-28 feet tall, one of which features a reflective finish, designed to make viewers feel reflected in the work. Together, they form a torch, which is illuminated at night by LED spotlights.

“The strength of ‘Excelsior’ is the manner in which it honors the history of the community in which it is sited while inspiring hope for its future,” ASC Vice President of Public Art Todd Stewart said in a statement. “Stacy and Edwin excel at creating landmarks that are rooted in place. The communities around Historic West End Charlotte have contributed greatly to our city for generations. ‘Excelsior’ celebrates that in a very inclusive way.”

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